Pumpkin Patch

Last week we got together with friends from church and went to a local pumpkin patch. They had a hay bale maze, a little story-time for the group, and pumpkin painting. The kids had a great time!

Picking her pumpkin

"Elena - E-L-E-N-A"

He's not quite sure what he was supposed to do with his

Budding Artists

He loved sitting with his friends at the story time

So proud of the pumpkin on her cheek!

Trickle.. trickle...

That's the sound of Evan's birthday celebration. It just keeps coming and coming. Hopefully I can have it wrapped up by Thanksgiving. :)

Proudly showing off his wonderful gifts.

"Thank you family!"

Gig-em Ags!

"Air-Pane!"

Loving Our Neighbors

The people on our street have been so welcoming. In addition to just coming over and introducing themselves some have brought little gifts such as these. Mmm-mmm!

Outsourcing this Blog

The kids have made guest appearances on other blogs this week, and I thought some of you might enjoy seeing the pictures of what they've been up to. :) Thank you, thank you Sarah and Kate for your generous offers to watch the kids and for even getting pictures!

Evan's Playdate with Jenna

Elena and Evan hangin' with Pierson

Whew - We Made It!

We are officially in the new house!

We closed on the new house last Friday and immediately started moving in by taking little loads over in our mini van.

Saturday was the big moving day involving a U-haul and a LOT of help from family and friends. We have been so blessed by the generosity of others through this process. The crew helping had the job done after just two trips and four hours! The kids and I stayed out of the way by going out with Abby and Micah (sis-in-law and nephew). With all the furniture including beds being moved that day, we began sleeping and "living" in the new house that night.

Sunday - Wednesday were spent squeezing in more small loads and cleaning the old house; meanwhile trying to balance participating in the world that was still going on around us.

Today was the first day where it became all about getting settled here, and boy do we have a long way to go! I mean seriously, the house is a wreck!

The proof...

But, "What's this?" you ask? This my friends is the light at the end of the tunnel. One of my top priorities after a move is finding a home for and organizing my spices. After that's done, the rest of the kitchen seems to fall into place, and then the entire house follows suit... really it's a magical process... at least in "Amy's World". So this was my project for today.

Ahhh, so lovely. I think I'll just stick my head in this cabinet when I get stressed out about the rest of the house. :)

Aubrey Meets her Cousins (and Uncle Ben)

I was at the hospital most of the day Wednesday while Ben was at home with the kids. But later that night we all headed back over there so Ben and the kids could meet Aubrey. I got such a kick out of the kids' reactions. Elena completely understood what was going on, was excited about going to the hospital, and just loved looking at Aubrey while we were there. Evan, oblivious to what was going on, stopped dead in his tracks when he got a sight of her. He suddenly acted as though he was fully aware of how new and special this little girl was. He laid his head on my arm and just stared at her... and then a few minutes later he moved on to "oohing" and "ahhing" over a light in the wall.

I just couldn't pick one.

Aubrey is Here!

My niece Aubrey arrived yesterday, October 14th at 1:15 pm weighing 8lb 5oz. My sister Patty had a pretty rough labor but is thankfully now on the mend. Aubrey was simply too comfortable where she was and showed interest in coming out. They finally had to use forceps!

Here she is less than an hour after birth. As you can see her left eye was really red and swollen from the forceps, but by the end of the day the swelling had completely gone away. She is just beautiful and is doing so well!

Exhausted Mommy!

Mommy and Daddy

Chris was going on no sleep but was perfectly collected during it all

Aubrey meeting her family

Proud Uncle Adam

Yours truly

Such a natural ;)

Thank you Ma and Pa!

I love my "Things That Go" book that you got me for my birthday. In fact rather than run around outside with Mommy and Elena like I normally do, I just sat in this chair to absorb everything it had to say about firetrucks, school buses, and scooters (ones just like Daddy's!).

Evan is 2 Years Old!

First off - Can I tell you how extremely thankful I am that he is unaware of his birthday? :) Besides "happy birthday" wishes from family and his favorite pizza for dinner, we really didn't do much out of the ordinary. Schedules and dates have been up in the air, so we're planning on having a little party for him once things settle down after the move. Again, I love that he is not in the least bit offended by this (although he might be when he reads this later in life).

Evan at Two...

I never would have expected his personality to develop the way it has. He was SO laid back as a baby; sometimes appearing a little bored with life. But now he is either wildly enthusiastic or clearly dissatisfied with the state of things.

The typical report from the nursery is, "Whew! He is ALL boy!"

He has discovered the wonder of the moon and wants to say goodnight to it if we're up late.

Anything can be a bat and ball to Evan; a stick and and a rock, a spoon and a bowl, a toothbrush and a rubber duckie, etc...

He's got a few sentences in his repertoire that when spoken, are said very loudly, "I HEAR IT!"; "WHAT DAT NOISE?"; "YOU HURT ME!" (Spoken to Elena often) "WHERE'D IT GO?"; and "I DID IT!"

He really enjoys his friends. When we first see them he squeals, runs up to them, tilts his head, and then says excited gibberish right in their face.

He still has a set of pipes on him - his squeals or screams are SO high and loud.

He also continues to love anything with wheels.

He's beginning to be interested in really simple puzzles, and has a lot of fun coloring (as long as his hands don't get messy!)

He's beginning to show pride in the little art projects he does in the nursery and holds them out for me to see when I pick him up.

He loves rough housing with Daddy or anyone that will tumble around with him.

He continues to be an extremely picky eater

And although he's not usually thankful for the dinner he's served, he loves to bow his head when we pray and loudly say, "AMEN" when we finish.

It's hard to know where to stop; there are so many things that I want to remember about how he is right now. We love him so much and are so thankful for his life!

I Did It! I Sewed!

I Sew! I'm a Sewer!... I just let the machine do the work... that's my secret.

Part of the plan for Elena's new bedroom decor was to convert our old queen sized duvet cover into a twin sized one for her bed. All we're talking about here is putting a seam down one side of the cover, but it had me pretty intimidated. I've had serious disagreements with my sewing machine in the past, but last night I mustered the courage needed, sat down... and... I did it! I'm pleased as punch.

Here is a peak of the things to go on Elena's bed in the new house. Sorry, I was too lazy to arrange things nicely. The duvet cover is the light blue fabric.

30 Weeks - Baby Day's A Coming!

Mark your calendars, we have a c-section date!

Now there's always the possibility that Asher could try and come sooner, but if all goes as expected he will be arriving

Tuesday, December 8th, 7:30am.